Famous Haystack Monument Vandalized: More Anti-Christian Hate at Williams College

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - The famous Haystack Monument, a pilgrimage point for students of Christian evangelism, has been crudely vandalized twice within the last two weeks by proponents of anti-Christian hate on the grounds of Williams College. According to a recent report in the Williams Record, 

Perpetrators drew graffiti on the Haystack Monument Friday night, marking the second time in two weeks that the monument has been defaced. 

President Maud S. Mandel sent a campus-wide email yesterday (May 21, 2023) notifying the College community of the incident. The monument, which commemorates five Williams students’ 1806 formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, was spray-painted with allusions to Christianity in red graffiti that resembled the May 13 defacement. The perpetrators have not been identified. 

“This time the slogans were ‘Hell is hot,’ ‘Shame on you,’ and ‘Ouch’ as well as an obscenity,” Mandel wrote. A Campus Safety Services (CSS) officer discovered the graffiti while canvassing the area during a standard check, Director of CSS Eric Sullivan wrote in an email to the Record. According to Mandel, CSS has increased its patrol of the area and is working with the Williamstown Police Department to follow leads. 

“Given that the Monument memorializes the Christian missionary movement, some people of faith may be experiencing these incidents as attacks on your religion and on you personally,” she wrote. “You belong here, and I will work for your and everyone’s right to a safe community.”

Maud's email emphasized her intent to get to the bottom of the matter saying that the people responsible would be held to account. She encouraged anyone who might have relevant information to contact Campus Safety Services (CSS) at (413) 597-4444. Tellingly, she added that callers may remain anonymous if they wish. 

She also highlighted resources that were available to support the Christian students who are, at least, the indirect targets of this hateful attack. In particular, she encouraged them to contact the Chaplains’ Office or the Davis Center for support. It will be interesting to see how each office proposes to protect evangelical Christians from the abuse generated by the anti-colonial, anti-evangelical ideologies these offices have maintained for decades. 

Thankfully, Jennifer Kabbany at The College Fix has called national attention to this most recent example of anti-Christian hate on the campus.

An article in a blog site called The Everyday Chirp indicated that "A petition has been circulating encouraging the college to respond to the vandalism with a public statement emphasizing that religious intolerance is not welcome on campus."

Maud recommended students hurting from an attack on one of the most prominent symbols of Christianity on campus seek support from the teams in the Dean of the College’s office and Integrative Wellbeing Services. A quick review of each website showed there was ample information provided about COVID-19, but no mention of the hateful attack on the Haystack Monument. Unfortunately, the plight of Christians at Williams College is illustrated by the comments of student activists including a transgender advocate who approved disparaging Christians here and another who sought to impress upon us her Trans Anger on the heels of the murderous behavior of a trans activist who killed six Christians in Nashville, TN on March 27, 2023.

This week's attack on the Haystack Monument was a reminder of a similar attack that occurred earlier. Again, as the Williams Record reported on May 15, 2023: 

Campus Safety Services (CSS) officers responded to reports that unknown perpetrators defaced the Haystack Monument with spray-painted graffiti, President Maud S. Mandel wrote in a campus-wide email on Monday that alerted the College community to the defacement. CSS received reports from a student through its dispatch center and anonymous tip line on Saturday, shortly after midnight, Director of CSS Eric Sullivan wrote in an email to the Record.

“The graffiti included an obscenity along with the words and phrases ‘Pagan Rule,’ ‘Blood,’ ‘Ouch,’ and ‘Hail Satan,’” Mandel wrote. Custodial staff responded at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday by power-washing the graffiti, though they were unable to remove the bulk of the damage, Sullivan wrote to the Record. According to Mandel, Facilities is arranging for the remainder of the writing to be cleaned.

According to a call log obtained by the Record, CSS alerted the Williamstown Police Department to the graffiti in a phone call Tuesday, and the defacement was filed as a “bias-motivated incident.” The motivation and perpetrators are not yet known, Sullivan wrote to the Record.

The Haystack Monument commemorates the location of the 1806 gathering of five Williams students that led to the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), during which the students sheltered under a haystack during a thunderstorm. Mission Park is also named for their meeting. ABCFM was a major Christian missionary organization throughout the 19th century and the largest in the United States, sending missionaries to China, India, Hawai’i, and several North American Indigenous nations. “The Haystack Monument has been a focal point for ongoing campus discussions about Williams’ institutional history,” Mandel wrote. “We expect those discussions to continue in the next academic year.”

The incident marks the second time in recent years that the Haystack Monument has been defaced: in 2018, mud was smeared onto the sides of the monument, and three concentric half-circles were carved into the ground between the monument and the benches that surround it. The perpetrators were never identified.

Personally, I remember standing beside the Haystack Monument and being surprised by its emotional power. It is amazing to think of all the good that was done by the young men who, on that spot, made a resolution to bring the benefits of Christianity to individuals living far beyond the boundaries of their own country. The monument is a reminder of the great things that can happen when a small group of people commit themselves to a great project. 

Additional articles regarding the Haystack Monument were released by the Berkshire Eagle, Blaze Media, Christian Broadcast Network, Daily Mail, Everyday Chirp, Fox News, Jewish World Review, Legal Insurrection, and New Boston Post.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist and a former Williams College professor. He is an occasional contributor at American Thinker, Breitbart, Front Page, PJMedia and WND.